A creator pulling in $5,000 a month from a paid community pays roughly $500 in transaction fees on Skool’s Hobby plan (10% of revenue) on top of the $9 base. The same creator on Mighty Networks Launch pays $95 for the plan and about $100 in 2% fees. The “cheaper” Skool plan is the more expensive one once revenue scales. That is the math nobody runs before they sign up.
Disclosure up front. We build Kourses, a competing platform. We are not Skool customers. We are not Mighty Networks customers. We study these tools every week and watch creators move between them. This skool vs mighty networks comparison sticks to verified 2026 pricing, real fee math, and a verdict you can use.
Skool vs Mighty Networks at a glance: the quick table
| Feature | Skool | Mighty Networks | Kourses (for context) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $9/mo Hobby | $95/mo Launch | $9/mo Starter |
| Top tier price | $99/mo Pro | Custom (Mighty Pro) | $79/mo Unlimited |
| Transaction fees | 10% Hobby, 2.9% Pro | 2% Launch, 1% Scale, 0.5% Growth | 0% |
| Native mobile app | Yes (members) | Yes (Mighty Pro = custom branded app) | No, mobile responsive web |
| Built-in courses | Light (Classroom) | Strong (modules, drip, cohorts) | Strong |
| Discovery directory | Yes (Skool directory) | Yes (Mighty's discovery) | No |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, no card | 14 days |
| Best for | Community-led, simple, mobile-first | Course plus community, brand control | Creators who want 0% fees |
Short version: Skool is cheaper on paper, simpler, and mobile-first. Mighty Networks is pricier on entry, but fees are lower, course features are deeper, and the top tier ships a branded app. The rest of this skool vs mighty networks 2026 breakdown goes through the math and who each one is really for.
Skool vs Mighty Networks pricing in 2026 (with break-even math)
Both companies refreshed their pricing pages this year. Here is what is on them, with gaps flagged honestly. This is the section that decides most skool vs mighty networks questions for real creators.
Skool’s two-plan structure and the 10% Hobby fee
Skool runs two public plans. Verified 2026 from skool.com/pricing.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (effective per month) | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9 | $7 | 10% |
| Pro | $99 | $82 | 2.9% |
Both plans include unlimited members, courses, videos, live calls, a custom URL, and affiliate tools. Skool calls Pro the “Good choice” tier on the page itself. Annual gives you 2 months free. Skool offers a 14-day free trial on both plans.
The headline is the 10% transaction fee on Hobby. That is not a typo. Every $100 your members spend on Hobby, $10 goes to Skool. The Pro plan drops that to 2.9%, roughly Stripe-level (see Stripe pricing for context).
For more detail, read our Skool pricing breakdown and our full Skool review.
Mighty Networks’ three tiers (and the price the page does not show)
Mighty Networks runs four plans, but only two have public prices. Verified 2026 from mightynetworks.com/pricing.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $95 | $950/year $79.17pm (2 months free) | 2% |
| Scale | $215 | $1,790/year $179pm (2 months free) | 1% |
| Mighty Pro | Custom (contact sales) | Custom | Not stated |
Worth saying clearly: Mighty Networks does not publish the Mighty Pro Plan price on its public pricing page. We verified the 0.5% transaction fee from their comparison grid, but the dollar figure is not displayed. We are not going to invent one. If Growth pricing matters, contact their sales team.
The 14-day free trial, no credit card required, applies on all paid plans. That is genuinely useful.
For a broader take, see our Mighty Networks alternatives roundup and what is Mighty Networks.
Real cost example: $5,000/mo creator on each
Numbers beat marketing copy, so let’s run a creator at $5,000 per month in community or course revenue. Stripe processing is excluded (it applies on both platforms).
Skool Hobby ($9/mo, 10% fee): $9 + $500 = $509/month
Skool Pro ($99/mo, 2.9% fee): $99 + $145 = $244/month
Mighty Networks Launch ($95/mo, 2% fee): $95 + $100 = $195/month
Mighty Networks Scale ($215/mo, 1% fee): $215 + $50 = $265/month
At $5,000/mo revenue, Mighty Networks Launch is the cheapest of the four. Skool Hobby is dramatically the most expensive. Skool Pro and Mighty Scale land close.
At $1,000/mo revenue:
Skool Hobby: $9 + $100 = $109/month
Skool Pro: $99 + $29 = $128/month
Mighty Networks Launch: $95 + $20 = $115/month
Skool Hobby wins at $1,000/mo ($109 vs $115). The break-even is around $1,075/month, above that, Mighty Networks Launch is cheaper than Skool Hobby despite the higher base price. The right question is not “is skool cheaper than mighty networks” but “cheaper at what revenue?”
Where Mighty Networks Launch beats Skool Hobby on real revenue
The break-even is around $1,075 per month. Above that, Mighty Networks Launch is cheaper than Skool Hobby, even though the base price is nine times higher.
Most creators reading this plan to make more than $1,075 a month. So if Skool Hobby is “the cheap one” in your head, replace that mental model. To skip transaction fees entirely, see 0% transaction fees for how we approach this on Kourses.
What Skool does better
There are real reasons Skool blew up.
Native mobile app for members. Skool ships a real iOS and Android app. Notifications hit phones. Engagement compounds. Mighty Networks has mobile apps too, but the fully branded version sits behind Mighty Pro. On Skool, the app experience is built in from $9.
Gamification and Skool Games. Points, levels, leaderboards, and the Skool Games event drive habitual return-to-app behaviour. Mighty Networks has badges and gamification on Launch and up, but Skool has tuned this into the spine of the product.
Skool’s discovery directory. Public communities can rank inside the Skool directory and pick up organic members. We have watched founders pull genuine paid signups from it.
Simpler UI for non-technical creators. Skool deliberately strips choice. Not many settings to misconfigure. If your audience likes simple, Skool wins on first-day setup.
Cheaper entry. $9 vs $95 is not nothing. If you are pre-revenue, Skool Hobby is the friendlier on-ramp. Remember the 10% fee kicks in the moment money moves.
What Mighty Networks does better
Where Mighty earns its $95.
Real course structure. Modules, lessons, drip schedules, cohorts, completion tracking, certificates. Mighty’s course engine is more mature than Skool’s Classroom. Skool’s courses are deliberately light. Mighty’s are not.
Hands-on Community Design services. Mighty offers strategy support, especially at Mighty Pro. Real consulting alongside the software. Skool gives you software and forums; Mighty gives you software and people.
Branded mobile app option. At Mighty Pro, you get your own iOS and Android app with your logo, name, and colours. For creators building a brand, this matters. Skool’s app is Skool-branded.
More mature automations and API. Scale unlocks Kit integration, intermediate automations, and limited API access. Growth unlocks full automations. Skool’s automation surface is intentionally minimal.
Stronger for cohort-based learning. If you run live cohorts with start and end dates and structured programming, Mighty fits that shape better than Skool, which is optimised around evergreen communities.
Skool vs Mighty Networks features compared side by side
A feature-by-feature view of mighty networks vs skool capabilities.
| Capability | Skool | Mighty Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Native member mobile app | Yes (Skool-branded) | Yes (Mighty Pro for fully custom) |
| Course modules and lessons | Light (Classroom) | Full (modules, drip, cohorts) |
| Live events | Yes | Yes, with paid event support on Scale |
| Community feed | Yes | Yes |
| Direct messages | Yes | Yes |
| Gamification | Strong (points, levels, leaderboards) | Yes (badges, points) |
| Discovery directory | Yes | Yes |
| Affiliate program | Yes (both plans) | Limited (depends on tier) |
| Automations | Minimal | Basic on Launch, full on Growth |
| API access | No public API | Limited on Scale, broader on Growth |
| Email integrations | Native, simple | Kit integration on Scale and up |
| Custom branding | Custom URL | Custom URL, custom app on Mighty Pro |
| Built-in payments | Yes | Yes |
| Transaction fee floor | 2.9% on Pro | 0.5% on Growth |
The pattern is consistent. Skool is wider but shallower. Mighty Networks is narrower at the bottom but deeper at the top.
Skool vs Mighty Networks: who is each best for?
Choosing skool or mighty networks comes down to three things: revenue, offer shape, and how much you care about a branded app.
Choose Skool if
You want a community-first product, your members live on mobile, your offer is simple, and you can either absorb the 10% Hobby fee or jump to Pro early. Skool fits founders who want the platform out of the way and who like the gamified habit loop. If your community is your product, Skool is built for you.
Choose Mighty Networks if
You run a course-and-community hybrid. You care about brand. You want cohorts with structured outcomes. You can pay $95 a month before revenue. The 2% Launch fee, dropping to 0.5% at Growth, is materially cheaper than Skool Hobby once revenue passes about $1,000 per month.
Consider an alternative if
Both Skool’s 10% Hobby fee and Mighty’s $95 entry feel wrong. This is where our Mighty Networks alternatives list earns its keep. Full disclosure: Kourses charges 0% transaction fees from $9 a month, and we do not ship a native mobile app yet. Members access on mobile through a responsive web experience. If a branded app is essential, Mighty Pro is the right call. If the 0% fee math matters more, see Kourses vs Skool and Kourses vs Mighty Networks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Skool cheaper than Mighty Networks?
It depends on your revenue. Skool Hobby is $9 plus 10% transaction fees. Mighty Networks Launch is $95 plus 2%. The break-even point is around $1,075 in monthly community or course revenue. Below that, Skool Hobby is cheaper. Above that, Mighty Networks Launch is cheaper, even with the higher base price.
Does Mighty Networks charge transaction fees in the skool vs mighty networks comparison?
Yes. Launch is 2%, Scale is 1%, Growth is 0.5%. Mighty Pro pricing and fees are custom. These are on top of standard Stripe processing fees, which apply on both platforms.
Can you build a course on Skool?
Yes. Skool’s Classroom hosts modules and lessons on both Hobby and Pro. But it is intentionally simple. No native drip scheduling at Mighty’s level, no cohort engine, no certificate workflow. If your business is structured course delivery, Mighty fits better. If it is a community with some course content alongside, Skool’s Classroom is sufficient.
Is Mighty Networks worth $95 a month vs Skool?
At pre-revenue, probably not. At $1,500 per month and up, the lower 2% fee plus deeper course features pay back fast against Skool Hobby. Mighty Pro (with a branded app and Community Design services) is reserved for established creators with custom-pricing budget.
Skool vs Mighty Networks vs Circle, the quick take?
Circle sits between them. Closer to Mighty in feature depth (real course modules, structured spaces, brand control), closer to Skool in pricing posture. We covered the Skool side in our Skool vs Circle comparison. If you are evaluating all three, that is the next read.
The bottom line
If you are a community-led, mobile-first creator with revenue under roughly $1,000 per month, Skool Hobby gets you running fast for $9. Upgrade to Skool Pro the moment revenue clears about $1,500 a month, because the 10% Hobby fee gets painful quickly.
If you run a course-and-community hybrid, care about brand, want cohort structure, and can pay $95 from day one, Mighty Networks Launch is the better fit. The 2% transaction fee is kinder to scaling revenue than Skool Hobby’s 10%, and the course engine is more serious. If a branded app is non-negotiable, Mighty Pro is the only path here.
Our honest pitch: Kourses runs at 0% transaction fees from $9 a month, and our top tier sits at $79. We do not ship a native mobile app yet, so if mobile-first matters most, pick Skool or Mighty Pro and don’t second-guess. If the fee math keeps you up, that is the gap we exist to close. See Kourses pricing.
The skool vs mighty networks decision is not about which platform is “best.” It is about which fits your revenue tier, your offer shape, and your tolerance for percentage fees. Run the math at your actual revenue. Then choose.
